‘Pseudo-crises’ making a mountain out of a molehill

When a disaster or crisis occurs, the news media play a crucial role in keeping the public informed of vital messages from public or private authorities. Journalists must collect substantial amounts of information and disseminate it very quickly. There are four types of crises that journalists typically give full media attention to: war situations, terrorism on U.S. soil, urban rioting fueled by racism or a major natural disaster.

The media is there for every bit of action most of the time and as the events unfold. There is another phenomenon that receives extraordinary coverage. A pseudo-crisis is an event that is relatively normal or not out of the ordinary that may receive unwarranted media attention.

Media coverage during a crisis tends follow a three phase pattern. In the first stage the disaster is announced as having already occured, is presently unfolding, or impending. Reporters and officials report all information as it is received, alert people to safety, and offer ways to deal with the fallout. In stage two, the media corrects all misinformation that might have been reported as new details come to light. Often there is a great deal of ambiguity during a crisis as to the cause, or how to handle the situation. Stage three focuses on the long term effects and begins the road to recovery.

Graber’s chapter highlights another interesting phenomenon of disasters called pseudo-crises. U.S culture has increasingly revolved around celebrity news. Coverage of events like Paris Hilton’s visit to jail, Britney Spears’ mental breakdown and Heath Ledger’s drug overdose seemed to overstay their welcome long after they occured. These events aren’t really a crisis, even if you are a fan of celebrity culture.

As a public relations professional-to-be, this can be frustrating. On numerous occaisions I have carefully drafted timely press releases for upcoming events that don’t get covered because of various pseudo-crises that overtake the media’s attention. It is beyond my control, but often media managers go beyond the necessary details to continue coverage of an event after the fact that wasn’t really extraordinary.